Dame Elizabeth Rosemond “Liz” Taylor, DBE (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood’s Golden Age. As one of the world’s most famous film stars, Taylor was recognized for her acting ability and for her glamorous lifestyle, beauty and distinctive violet eyes.
National Velvet (1944) was Taylor’s first success, and she starred in Father of the Bride (1950), A Place in the Sun (1951), Giant (1956), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), and Suddenly, Last Summer (1959). She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for BUtterfield 8 (1960), played the title role in Cleopatra (1963), and married her co-star Richard Burton. They appeared together in 11 films, including Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), for which Taylor won a second Academy Award. From the mid-1970s, she appeared less frequently in film, and made occasional appearances in television and theatre.
Her much publicized personal life included eight marriages and several life-threatening illnesses. From the mid-1980s, Taylor championed HIV and AIDS programs; she co-founded the American Foundation for AIDS Research in 1985, and the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation in 1993. She received the Presidential Citizens Medal, the Legion of Honour, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and a Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute, who named her seventh on their list of the “Greatest American Screen Legends”. Taylor died of congestive heart failure at the age of 79.
Birth Place: Hampstead, London, England, UK on 1932-02-27
Known For: Acting
TOP FIVE ROLES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
An alcoholic ex-football player drinks his days away, having failed to come to terms with his sexuality and his real feelings for his football buddy who died after an ambiguous accident. His wife is crucified by her desperation to make him desire her: but he resists the affections of his wife. His reunion with his father—who is dying of cancer—jogs a host of memories and revelations for both father and son.
Release Date: 1958-09-20
Role: Maggie
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
A bitter, aging couple, with the help of alcohol, use a young couple to fuel anguish and emotional pain towards each other.
Release Date: 1966-06-22
Role: Martha
Giant
Sprawling epic covering the life of a Texas cattle rancher and his family and associates.
Release Date: 1956-11-24
Role: Leslie Lynnton Benedict
Reflections in a Golden Eye
Bizarre tale of sex, betrayal, and perversion at a military post.
Release Date: 1967-10-11
Role: Leonora Penderton
BUtterfield 8
The story about Gloria Wandrous, a promiscuous fashion model, who falls in love with Weston Liggett, the hard drinking son of a working class family who has married into money.
Release Date: 1960-11-04
Role: Gloria Wandrous
